


Oreos and a Mental Connection

by Bunnylover94



Series: The Glorious Heroics of the Justice League [3]
Category: Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Superman the Animated Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29121675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunnylover94/pseuds/Bunnylover94
Summary: A tired woman hiding from the clutches of the likes of Lex Luthor is about to aid a wounded Martian in her living room. Thank goodness, she has an extra container of Oreos. She may have to face an obstacle she has never wanted to: herself and actually help the Justice League in her own way.
Series: The Glorious Heroics of the Justice League [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1386685





	Oreos and a Mental Connection

**Author's Note:**

> The Justice League is a big deal for me. I have always adored the Martian Manhunter. It also features an OC of mine that I introduced in the second part. I own nothing, DC does! So please enjoy.

Four days after the notorious day she had uncovered the truth of Lex Luthor, Marie sighed and dragged herself up the stairs of her apartment complex. She continued to drag herself up the final flight, and though her thighs thundered and shook she proceeded down the long hard-floored hallway. She yanked her keys out of her left gray wool coat pocket.

She heaved a giant sigh as she replayed the events in her mind. She had narrowly avoided the private investigators that the famously wealthy and well-connected Lex Luthor had sent to locate her. Thankfully she had dodged them as calmly as was possible for her. She had to work harder than-

A earthquake erupted through her head and she screeched as she collapsed in the hallway. She crawled to her apartment door and pushed it open. She inhaled a quick ragged breath.

A heart-wrenching scream pierced her mind and her ears. A flame-covered figure who was rolling on her plain dusty brown carpet. The flames lessened but remained on their person. She slammed the door shut with a quick push and then her refrigerator door flew open. A giant water pitcher sailed out the shelf and saturated the blaze-covered figure. The fire disappeared and the figure was revealed in graying smoke: green skin, glowing citrine eyes and red crisscrossed "x" woven across his chest.

 _What is he doing here? Why is the Martian Manhunter in my apartment?_ , she thought.

 _I did not mean to invade your personal space. I was trying to stop Gorilla Grodd, but then a flame-wielding villain showed up. And then she lit me up and the flames would not leave my body,_ he mentally responded.

She huffed. _Do you need a medic?_

He slowly shook his head. _I just need some rest. Thank you for putting out the fire._

She gulped. _I have no idea what you are talking about._

His eyes glowed. _I understand being a hero scares many. But when you have the selfless drive to help a complete stranger, you can handle any threat that comes your way._

His bright citrine eyes bored into hers. Marie shook her head. 

_No, I cannot do what you do._

His eyes softened. _I know you **think** that. Or have forced yourself to believe that. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Marie. Do not let people from the past prevent you from being you truly are in the future. _

"That sounds like a job for Superman," she croaked out. 

"He and the rest of the League is out there right now. Fighting for all of us. Against Grodd and six others," he informed her.

She tensed. "Good, then everything will be fine."

_You and I both know it will not. They need help and I cannot go to them right now. I must rest now._

His lids lowered and his arms slackened. She rushed to him and her eyes widened as his chest rose and fell in and his body appeared to loosen. 

She released out a long weary sigh. Marie hated where this was going. She shook and her heart raced as she breathed in a deep rhythmic breaths to defeat the storm raging through her mind and chest. She chanted an internal monologue to remain present and stress how it was not a big deal. She was going to have to help the heroes. Even if it cost her night off.

****

"This is Snapper Carr. Superman and the Justice League are fighting for all of us", informed the handsome reporter.

The cameraman loyally trailed the battle that was occurring in front of them. 

A blur of red and blue whizzed past the camera's view and then slammed Grundy into several brick walls. Grundy then roared and lunged toward Superman and slammed his Kryptonian mug into the concrete.

Wonder Woman lifted her silver bracelets to deflect the pink beams that Star Sapphire aimed at her face. Wonder Woman then rose into the air and chased after a smirking Star Sapphire. Then a pink beam struck the Amazon as she shrieked and then collided into the ground. 

Batman tossed an beeping, exploding bat-a-rangs at Clayface who shifted around to the Dark Knight. And Clayface proceeded to swallow him whole and the Dark Knight sank into the clay's innards.

Flash darted about as Shade pointed his cane to blanket him in darkness. Flash then tripped and rolled into Shade's dome of darkness 

Hawkgirl dodged the flame erupting Volcana, and growled as Volcana smirked and blew a kiss at Hawkgirl. Hawkgirl lunged and whacked her mace against Volcana's shoulder. Volcana's eyes blazed and her flames thickened and whipped at Hawkgirl's feathers. Hawkgirl cried out in pain. 

Emerald green and canary yellow collided as Sinestro and Green Lantern summoned two snarling alien beasts bit into each other. They railed their mental constructions into one another. Sinestro smirked as his creature eradicated John's snarling beast. John screamed and flew backward. 

Grodd smirked at the battle in front of him. 

_The Justice League will fall beneath me._

_Not if I can help it._ A female mental voice pierced into the brilliant Grodd's mind. 

A fluttering red-hooded and cape-wearing female with glowing golden eyes hovered over him. Back heel tips pointed above his furry head. Her skirt pooled down to to the top of black laces. The red cloth covered the entire top half of her body.

Grodd growled out loud. "And who are you to stop me and my Injustice Society?"

Grodd was levitated and then was yanked in front of the red-hooded woman. He surveyed her and saw a darkened oval where a face should be. Bright piercing yellow eyes bored into his. A level, confident gaze burned into his mind and she opened her mouth.

"What is your goal, Mr. Grodd?" 

A heavy, monumental pressure pushed down on his mind. He felt compelled to answer. Strange. 

"To destroy Metropolis, the Justice League and claim the world for me the rightful ruler."

_Why am I revealing anything to this woman? This filthy weak little metahuman. I am beyond this female. And I am beyond all humans._

_Because you are too arrogant and therefore you are ready to obey._ She mentally threw at Genius Gorilla.

Grodd's eyes widened and his teeth bared in anger and snarled. 

The red-hooded woman lifted her pale hand in front of Gorilla Grodd and he flew back; and then she _dropped_ him on top of a police car. He groaned and his giant eyes rolled back under his lids. 

Snapper Carr gasped on camera, "It appears that Gorilla Grodd has been defeated by a mysterious figure." 

The camera zoomed in and then a pair of glowing golden eyes brightened and the screen rippled into static. 

Snapper Carr yelped and the camera man tossed the camera as the machine began to burn against the poor man's palms. Then some bandages and ointment floated toward the burning hands of the cameraman. The ointment lathered over the palms and then the bandages wrapped themselves around the pinkening flesh.

Batman tossed a final bat-a-rang at Clayface, and he melted. Clayface released Batman from his liquefying clutches. Batman gasped in shallow breaths. Clayface then slid away into a nearby alley. Batman grunted. He looked over to the new mystery hooded figure hovering above the fight. 

Green Lantern shot Sinestro in the face with a beam of emerald energy. Sinestro fell from the sky and Green Lantern created an oval prison for the lantern-killing alien. Green Lantern aimed his eyes toward the galaxies beyond. John Stewart then blasted off into the heavens and departed with Sinestro. 

The hooded figure floated down where Grundy was. She kept her feet far above the ground. Levitating appeared to be a simple trick, but patience and concentration was necessary to remain above the ground. 

"Who are you?" asked Grundy.

 _Just someone who wants to help. How are you, Grundy?_ She mentally sent him.

"How you get inside my head?" demanded Grundy.

 _I just can. One of my secret powers._ Grundy was an innocent. Her golden eyes stared at Grundy's drooping lids.

"Are you with the other heroes?" he asked.

The hooded woman bit her lip. She knew the League would discover she was nearby. It was a matter of time, although she never had a burning desire to become a hero, it would appear that way to a zombie like Grundy. Or really anyone here fighting the League might assume she was a hero. Which was laughable. She was not any sort of hero. This would be a one-time interference, nothing more. 

Any answer she gave him would not matter. Besides, she needed him to regard her as a weak link. It would be the easiest assumption about her and therefore permit her to properly utilize her mental resources. 

Grundy roared and then wrapped his giant gray hand around her neck. He pressed her into the building and she pushed back the bricks to avoid slamming into it. 

"You with the League."

_No, my dear, I am doing this for my city. And I intend to never do this again._

She leveled her eyes at his flat, heavy lidded gaze. 

A soft pressure graced his mind. Poor dear, he was just as drained as she. 

"How are you, Mr. Grundy?" she asked softly. 

His eyes dulled.

"Sleepy," he droned.

The golden eyes glowed.

"Then rest, Mr. Grundy." she commanded.

Grundy exhaled a slow exhausted breath and slumped down to the ground. 

She sighed. A piece of her always wilted when she suggested people reveal their private thoughts and do the things she wanted them to comply to. 

Then a moving rose up from the shadows of the alley and reassembled himself to stand before her.

"Who are you?" groused out a Clay-Man.

She pulled herself out of the suspended bricks and reassembled the female-outlined brick space. She then descended down to the ground. Her heart thudded as she closed the space between her and the Clay-Man. 

_I am someone who wants you all to stop._ Marie thinned her hidden lips. That sounded purposely obtuse. _I am here to take you all down._ That sounded condescending. And she was not a powerhouse of a superhero. Hell, she was not even a hero. _I understand where you are all coming from._ No she did not. Though she would try to, but that might piss someone like him. She was not a Gothamite, but she had heard of someone with his abilities. Though she did not have the slightest clue on what to say to him.

She was a metahuman who felt shame for her own gifts. She could not know how to console someone who had lost their humanity and then was left isolated and vilified for their forced transformation. 

"Just a floating metahuman who could throw you across Metropolis. Make you take a nap. Or for my own goddamn amusement, make you dance the jig," she deadpanned.

Clay-Man raised a melting, gooey eyebrow at her. Then abruptly threw his head and unleashed a rumbling round of laughter. 

"You are joking, wannabe hero." 

"Obviously," she started, "but please don't tempt me."

Secretly, though it would interesting to command him to dance. He might blanket the city in ever-moving clay form or solidify to a particular spot. Or he may shape himself into multiple dance partners. 

She was not a stupid little wannabe or a groupie. She was not a pathetic sidekick, either, but her lips remained pasted on top of one another.

Clay-Man then leered over her once his laughter subsided. 

"Then do it."

Marie lifted herself and leveled her gaze to his shifting ones. Her hands cradled his chin. Shock splashed across his moving face. Fear reflected in his eyes. His shoulders stiffened. 

His mind slid off her press, so she reformed his mind and morphed back to his old mind. She remained steady in his mind, never yielding, even as the Clay-Man shuddered and attempted slip through her fingers. 

"Will you allow yourself to see yourself as you always have been?" she demanded. 

The Clay-Man's form shifted and fluttered back into a suit-wearing human male who looked down at his hands. His eyes filled with unshed tears. 

"Yes." 

Superman halted and turned mid-air. His ears aimed at the hooded woman below. 

"Incredible," he said in a hushed tone.

"What was that, Boy Scout?" groused out a grumpy Dark Knight. 

"Batman, there is a mysterious and powerful woman here," he replied.

"I know," the Dark Knight deadpanned. 

Wonder Woman leapt back into the air and tackled Star Sapphire to the ground. Star Sapphire groaned as her body stilled into slow, pained exhales. She turned toward the new arrival and gaze sharpened as she witnessed Clayface shift into a male human form.

"Great Hera," she breathed out.

Hawkgirl growled and then slammed her mace into Volcana's face. Volcana smirked and danced about.

"Careful, birdy. Hate for you to lose all those pretty feathers," Volcana cooed.

"Be a shame for you to lose a few teeth," bit out Shayera. 

Volcana's face knitted with mocking self-worry.

"Oh. No. What ever would I do?" She crowed dramatically. 

Shayera smirked back and then lunged forward and battered her mace against Volcana. Volcana's neck reared to the side. Her jaw crackled and went slack. Volcana bellowed out a distressed wheeze. Shayera wacked her temple with her trusty mace. Volcana crumpled to the ground. 

Shayera then turned her head and narrowed her eyes on the new arrival.

"I guess this fight isn't over yet," she stated with a small smile growing on her face. 

Flash burst out of Shade's cocoon. Flash zipped out and panted.

"Now, I know how hamsters feel in those giant balls," he snarked. 

His nose wrinkled in disgust. "And maybe you should throw a Glade plug-in in those shadow-things of yours."

Shade's lips curled down. 

"Gee. Thanks for the advice."

Flash beamed. "No problem, Gloomy."

He zigzagged as Shade pointed his cane at the speedster once more. Flash angled his body away and his fist collided with Shade's nose. 

The speedster then sighed tiredly and glanced around. He spotted the new cloaked hero.

His eyes widened and he released a slow whistle. He then zipped over to the crouching Dark Knight.

"I guess you had a secret love child, after all," he teased.

Batman's masked eyes narrowed.

"I don't."

Flash grinned. 

"How would you know?"

Superman snorted in amusement as he descended from the sky to join them.

"Ignore him, Flash. He's just angry he doesn't know whoever she is."

Wonder Woman dropped down and joined her teammates.

"I am glad, then, because for once we are all in the dark. Perhaps we should go introduce ourselves."

Hawkgirl grinned wickedly.

"Or start swinging."

Flash grimaced. 

"Yeah. I don't think that would go over well. Isn't she like us? I mean she stopped Grodd, Grundy and ClayDude," argued Flash.

"Clayface," corrected Batman.

"Well, that's just rude, Batman," scolded Flash.

Batman grunted and mumbled under his breath.

Superman laughed. 

Marie peered over to the heroes and then floated over to the Justice League.

 _I am not your enemy._ She mentally sent to them all.

Flash and Superman both widened their eyes.

Hawkgirl huffed in disappointment.

Wonder Woman smiled. 

Batman's face remained neutral, though his eyes watched her with an intense curiosity.

"Whoa, looks like we have a replacement for Martian Manhunter," commented Flash.

"Who are you?" inquired Wonder Woman softly.

 _A one-time helper. J'onn J'onzz sent me,_ she mentally responded. 

All of the Justice League members' shoulders tensed.

"Where is he now?" asked Batman.

 _Safe. He needed rest._ Marie mentally responded. 

"Thank you for your help," said Superman.

Marie shrugged.

_You are welcome. Though I do not think I accomplished much._

Superman smiled at her. "You did well."

"You don't have any fighting abilities," blandly stated Batman.

"Seriously? That's what you focusing on," Flash yelled. 

_No. I don't._ She responded.

"Perhaps, next time, I can teach you," said Wonder Woman. 

Bright yellow eyes glowed. 

_Thank you for the offer. I must be going now._

Batman grumbled and crossed his arms. He also narrowed his eyes. 

Superman beamed at her. "It was nice to meet you."

"Yes, thank you, sister," stated a grinning Wonder Woman. 

"Alright, give us a holler whenever you can babe," Flash said.

Hawkgirl smacked him. "Idiot."

"Ow," Flash groused in a deep pout.

Marie shook her cloaked head. These heroes were not like how they acted on the news, well except Flash. 

_It was wonderful to meet all of you._

She waved at them before jumping into the sky and flew beyond the darkening clouds.

***

Marie sighed as she tossed off her make-shift costume into the recesses of her closet. She then grabbed a ponytail hair tie and wrapped up her greasy hair into a casual bun. 

A satisfied hum startled her as she ventured back into the living room.

A giant glass of milk was teetering on a green palm and a series of Oreos were stacked on a single tiny snack plate. 

A small smile curved her lips.

 _Enjoying your rest?_ She mentally sent him.

Martian Manhunter chuckled aloud and then dunked a cookie into the glass of milk. 

_I hope you do not mind._

_As long as you saved some for me._

The Oreo container floated to Marie and she hummed in delight.

They smiled at one another and simply leaned back on Marie's soft brown couch. They resumed munching Oreos and sat in wonderful familiar silence. 

~To Be Continued~


End file.
